Many individuals are dissatisfied with their current tooth color. Thus, there is a desire for whiter teeth and one means to achieve whiter teeth is the use of tooth whitening products.
It is known in the literature that the visual perception of a white substance can be altered through the deposition of an optical brightener, blue pigment or blue dye, especially one for which the hue angle (in the CIELAB scale) of the reflected or emitted light is between 200 to 320 degrees. This effect is commonly used in laundry detergent products to make white clothes appear “whiter” to the human eye. The same concept has been applied to tooth whitening as well. The natural off-white or yellow color of teeth can be made to appear whiter through the deposition of a blue substance onto teeth. Using pigments with a deposition aid, i.e., high molecular weight Gantrez®, type polymers (copolymers of maleic anhydride and with methyl vinylether) in toothpaste to make teeth look whiter is disclosed in EP 1935395B1.
It would be desirable to have tooth whitening oral care products containing pigments and polymers other than Gantrez® that can produce superior temporary tooth whitening effects when incorporated into oral care products.